If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to just put it in the desert? Realistically, if noise from calculations is the problem, placing it in a remote area would be more economical.

It's a play on "in space no-one can hear you scream", not a literal "compute is so noisy we need to go to space"

The jurisdiction issue is the bigger one. Deserts don't solve this; International waters, possibly do, but then you've got other issues.

The desert is still under someone’s jurisdiction. Perhaps the best on-planet comparison is creating a man made island in the middle of the ocean.